Category: spotify

Spotify to Scoop Company Behind Val Kilmer’s Voice in Tom Cruise Blockbuster

Spotify Technology SA agreed to acquire Sonantic. Sonantic is a dynamic AI voice platform that creates compelling, nuanced, and stunningly realistic voices from the text. The financial terms of the transaction remain undisclosed. Sonantic technology helped bring Val Kilmer’s voice to life in Tom Cruise’s blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, the TechCrunch reports. Kilmer was unable to speak due…


Spotify Shares Jump on Analyst Upgrade, Drawing Parallels With Netflix

Raymond James analyst Andrew Marok upgraded Spotify Technology S.A.  to Outperform from Market Perform with a $150 price target. The stock has traded off significantly from all-time highs in early 2021 due to slower than expected scaling of the company’s podcasting business and, most recently, soft margin guidance. Marok saw the bad news as priced at the trading levels,…


Netflix’s Crash Triggers Concerns for Spotify Too

Netflix, Inc’s share price crash has pulled down other media stocks emulating the streaming giant’s moves. Spotify Technology S.A. valuation is also losing its mojo even before Netflix’s crash, the Financial Times wrote. Spotify’s market capitalization is about twice its 2021 revenue, while Netflix’s market cap is about three times its 2021 revenue. Spotify and Netflix, pioneers of streaming in…


Audio Files Being Consumed as ‘Digital Drugs’: Study

A study on the Global Drug Survey 2021 has raised questions on the phenomenon of binaural beats in audio files being consumed as “digital drugs” capable of “eliciting mental and emotional responses” akin to psychoactive drugs. “We’re starting to see digital experiences defined as drugs, but they could also be seen as complementary practices alongside…


Spotify Suspending Services in Russia Following Restrictions

Audio streaming platform Spotify has announced that it is suspending services in Russia as a response to the country’s newly imposed media rules. “Spotify has continued to believe that it’s critically important to try to keep our service operational in Russia to provide trusted, independent news and information from the region,” the company said in…


Read How Analysts Reacted to Google’s Pact With Spotify

Alphabet Inc.’s Google decided to allow Spotify Technology SA and other app developers to offer users an alternative third-party payment option alongside Google Play’s option. KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson saw the move as a win for digital content providers. He viewed alternative payment options as a happy compromise that calmed regulators and large developers without sacrificing Google Play…


Kanye West Says New Album Won’t Appear on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, or YouTube

Rapper Kanye West has announced that he will not be releasing his upcoming album exclusively through his own device and platform, and not on any major platforms, blaming the switch on low commissions and a move towards independence from binding contracts. “Donda 2 will only be available on my own platform, the Stem Player,” Kanye, who…


Spotify Shares Fall After Joe Rogan’s Podcast Briefly Not Accessible

Spotify Technology’s shares fell 5 percent on Friday after Joe Rogan’s podcast was briefly not accessible on the company’s streaming platform. The podcast can now be accessed and Spotify did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has been under fire after Rogan, who signed a $100-million deal with Spotify in 2020,…


Moving Past Joe Rogan Controversy, Spotify Boosts Podcast Business With 2 Key Acquisitions

Spotify Technologies S.A. said Wednesday it was acquiring two podcast tech platforms—Chartable and Podsights. What Happened Chartable is a podcast analytics platform, while Podsights is a podcast advertising measurement service. Spotify said it plans to solve the pain point of measurement and attribution through the acquisition of Podsights. The company said it would be able to “help…


Neil Young Urges Spotify Employees to Quit Their Jobs, Tells Fans to Withdraw Money From Big American Banks

Singer Neil Young has called on Spotify employees to quit their jobs while also criticizing the music streaming platform’s CEO, Daniel Ek. In a statement published on his website on Tuesday, Young took aim at Ek, calling him the “biggest problem” and not podcast host Joe Rogan. The 76-year-old also encouraged other artists and creators to…